News Link and Dialogue: Should Parents be jailed for not attending Parent-Teacher Conferences

I'm reading this article in the Detroit news about Wayne County's prosecutor developing a plan, which is still in the works, to make it a crime punishable by a fine or jail time for parents who don't attend Parent-Teacher conferences at their child's school. They say that they want more parent involvement in the schools and in kids education. I don't think that jail time is appropriate for parents who skip out on conferences, because some parents may be too busy to attend, but I do think that there should be some other forms of communication between parents and the schools, such as phone calls, letters home, e-mails, and means of that sort. I think that parents should own up and take responsibility for what their kids are getting into and seeing to it that their children are keeping up academically in school. I remember going to Conferences with my parents when I was in school (my Mom usually went, but my Dad came to conferences with my Mom when I was in Elementary school and the 6th grade), and they both would find out how I was fairing academically from my teachers themselves. THey'd talk to me and help me out if I was lagging in any subject, and find the help necessary for me if they couldn't help me. When I was in High School, Report cards were handed out at Conferences during certain marking periods (they were usually mailed home or handed out in Homeroom, which was rarely used in my school), and the parents could talk with their child's teachers face to face about their child or children's grade. The day after conferences, students whose parents didn't attend conferences had to pick up their report cards at the office, and if they still didn't show up to pick the cards up then, they were mailed home. To all my readers with school aged kids, do you attend Parent-Teacher conferences for your child? What means are helpful to get parents who don't attend to get more involved in their child's education?